Chapter 48: Lin Yu and Dugu Yan Both Break Through, Heading to the Star Dou Great Forest

"Forget it, withdraw the troops, go back and report to His Majesty first!" A deputy commander nearby hurriedly pulled the leader away.

The Wuhun Holy Hall is the highest-level branch hall; even the empire cannot casually surround it with troops, because this could escalate to the point of the empire declaring war on the Wuhun Holy Hall.

"Fine, fine, fine! Wuhun Holy Hall!"

"Withdraw the troops!"

The Xingluo Royal Knights retreated in such a stifled manner and immediately informed the Emperor of Xingluo of the Platinum Bishop's response from the Wuhun Holy Hall.

Upon learning that the Wuhun Holy Hall was determined to take Zhu Zhuqing away, Dai Mubai felt a chill in his heart; he knew there was a high probability that the Emperor of Xingluo would not send anyone to the Pope Palace to demand her back from Qian Daoliu.

Sure enough, the Emperor of Xingluo ultimately gave up on the matter.

"Don't leave me, Zhuqing!!"

Dai Mubai was completely desperate, his face showing decadence, distress, stifled anger, and regret as he roared in sorrow.

The fate awaiting him was that after Dai Weisi successfully competed for the position of crown prince, he, Dai Mubai, would either be killed or imprisoned.

On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing had already begun her brand-new life, continuing on the road with Lin Yu and the others.

Having gained freedom and no longer bound by the marriage contract, Zhu Zhuqing's mood was clearly much brighter.

When communicating and chatting with the two girls, Qian Renxue and Dugu Yan, she could often show a sincere smile.

Her life would begin to change from this moment on.

In the carriage, Zhu Zhuqing asked, "Um, where are we going now?"

"The Star Dou Great Forest."

Lin Yu is currently level 39 and about to break through to level 40.

Dugu Yan is at level 29 and also about to break through to level 30, so they plan to head directly to the Star Dou Great Forest; by the time they arrive, Lin Yu and Dugu Yan will have both just about broken through.

Lin Yu said, "After Yan Yan and I obtain our Spirit Rings, we will enter Tiandou territory directly to continue our travels; Zhu Zhuqing, you will temporarily follow us to travel the Dalu for this period."

"After we finish the tasks for this outing, we will take you to Wuhun City; from then on, you will remain at the Pope Palace to cultivate as a Core Disciple of the Wuhun Holy Hall."

"Mm-hmm! I understand." Zhu Zhuqing nodded heavily, also looking forward to the journey of traveling through Tiandou with Lin Yu and the others.

Because she had never truly been out in the world until now.

The original journey of three people had now become four—Lin Yu, Qian Renxue, Dugu Yan, and Zhu Zhuqing—along with Lin Shuai, who served as the coachman.

For the next period of time, they continued at their previous pace, walking and stopping, taking about a month.

The four of them finally arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

And during this month, Lin Yu and Dugu Yan had successfully reached the level required to absorb their Spirit Rings.

At this moment, the carriage stopped at a resting point near the Star Dou Great Forest, and Lin Shuai said, "Young Clan Leader, Young Master, we have arrived."

"Mm, after storing the carriage, let's go in together."

"Alright!"

A moment later, the five of them stepped into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Qian Renxue asked, "Lin Yu, this time, how many ten-thousands of years do you intend for your Fourth Soul Ring to be? Should we call out the Elder who is secretly protecting us to help?"

They knew that Dugu Bo was definitely protecting them in secret, and there might also be a Title expert sent by Qian Daoliu.

And since Lin Yu's Third Soul Ring was already 15,000 years old, the cultivation of the target for this Fourth Soul Ring would only be higher; Qian Renxue was worried that they, as juniors, wouldn't be able to handle it.

Lin Yu thought for a moment and said, "We should rely on ourselves for this outing as much as possible; if we really can't solve it, then we'll call them out to help. My Fourth Soul Ring doesn't need to exceed 50,000 years; reaching 40,000 years is about enough."

"As long as the Soul Beast is over 40,000 years old and doesn't have an overly strong bloodline, the two of us have the ability to kill it by joining forces."

"Alright, then we will hunt it ourselves; this is also a trial for us." Qian Renxue nodded.

"The Fourth Soul Ring is 40,000 years old, Lin Yu, you really are a freak." Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but exclaim.

"Hehe, alright, let's set off."

Lin Yu smiled and led the team forward.

"Let's settle Yan Yan's Third Soul Ring first. Yan Yan has eaten Thousand-Year Whale Glue before, so there's no problem with you absorbing a 3,000-year-old Third Soul Ring; we will find you one that exceeds 3,000 years."

"Mm-hmm, I'll listen to Lin Yu." Dugu Yan smiled slightly.

The five of them went deep into the forest, heading toward the Neiwei Qu while searching for Dugu Yan's target.

About four hours later, the five of them went deep into a habitat for spider-type Soul Beasts.

Spider-type Soul Beasts do not have high intelligence; other than when they are hunting to fill their stomachs, they do not kill living creatures casually.

But in this part of the forest.

Besides being covered in the iconic spider webs of spider-type Soul Beasts, there were also a large number of Soul Beast skeletons and remains; there was a lot of dried blood nearby, and a faint smell of blood permeated the air.

"There are a large number of Soul Beast skeletons and remains here, which shows that the spider-type Soul Beasts living here are extremely bloodthirsty."

"Among spider-type Soul Beasts, the one that loves slaughter is the Man-Faced Demon Spider. Everyone be careful; there is a high probability that this is the habitat of a Man-Faced Demon Spider. Once we encounter them, they will definitely launch an attack on us." Qian Renxue gave a warning.

The five of them immediately switched formations, with Lin Yu and Qian Renxue opening the path at the front.

Lin Shuai brought up the rear.

Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan stood in the middle, and they planned to walk directly through this forest.

Sure enough, they hadn't walked for long.

A terrifying roar came from the forest!

A strange, large spider with a diameter of nearly two meters appeared in front; its eight spider legs were over three meters long, its entire body was covered in a black shell, and there were some white patterns on its lower abdomen, which formed the shape of a ferocious human face.

It looked extremely evil and terrifying!

"It really is a Man-Faced Demon Spider!"

"Screech~!"

After the Man-Faced Demon Spider discovered Lin Yu and the others, it immediately radiated a strong intent to kill and then crawled over crazily.

The law of the jungle—strong carnivorous Soul Beasts hunting weaker Soul Beasts to fill their stomachs—is the norm in the world of Soul Beasts.

But the Man-Faced Demon Spider has such a strong nature for slaughter that they will kill other living creatures at will for the sake of killing, and they are known as evil slaughterers.

Whether for humans or for Soul Beasts, the Man-Faced Demon Spider is a pest that wreaks havoc on the ecosystem, so when encountering one, many powerful Spirit Masters and Soul Beasts will take action to kill it to prevent them from wantonly slaughtering other Soul Beasts.

"Seeking death!"

Qian Renxue released her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul without hesitation, intending to take action and kill it.

But Lin Yu stopped Qian Renxue at the first opportunity: "Sister Xue'er! Wait!"

"A two-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider, could it be that one..."

Lin Yu thought quickly.

In the original work, when Tang San obtained his third Spirit Ring, he hunted a two-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider, thereby accidentally obtaining an External Spirit Bone named Eight Spider Lances!

(End of chapter)